Multiple sclerosis requires routine

We’ve been nothing here at Life with MS if not totally and unabashedly up front, open and even personal. In that vein, I’m going to get even more personal with you than I ever have been before; today I’ll talk about hygiene.

I’ve come to realize that in certain things in my day, things that most people just don’t even think about doing, that my auto-pilot is broken. You know the type of things I’m talking about; how many of us think about how we are brushing our teeth, for example?

I’ve found over the past years that if I don’t do everything in an exact order in the morning, I just forget to do it.

We’re used to our minds being on the day ahead when showering, for instance. Now, however, if I let my mind wander to my day ahead, I might step out without shaving or with a head full of conditioner!

I think it first came to my mind when I was realizing I had forgotten something in my post shower routine. Of particular interest was lack of deodorant!!!

I started to notice this about two years ago.

As with anything having to do with adapting our lives to MS, I had to figure out a non-obtrusive way to make sure I was getting done what needed to be done. It’s just like figuring out how to get someplace when we can’t drive that day.

I’ve been using the routine of taking all of my post-shower products out of a drawer and placing them on the vanity top in order. I apply deodorant, face moisturizer, hair product, etc, in order so I don’t forget.

After they go on, they go back in the drawer; again in order.

It’s not like I’m not used to this kind of organization from my former professional life. In the cooking business, it’s called “Mis en Place”. It means gathering everything together, cleaning, cutting, readying everything for cooking to order. I have to create a bathroom Mis en Place for pity’s sake.

I’ve talked with my therapist about this. It’s not OCD behavior of some other disorder. It’s merely a coping skill I’ve developed to get around a neurological problem. She says it’s not unlike our brain finding a new pathway to get something done when its normal pathway is damaged by MS.

I know I’m not alone in this situation even if it’s not exactly the same for you. You may be able to take your morning shower and think about intricate philosophical issues. Me, I can’t even sing in the shower anymore without a damned check list. Though, Caryn and any house guests we may have are likely happy about that…

How about you? Share your stories of adapting to any new mental deficits you’ve come across due to MS (or just plain aging, I suppose).

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Trevis Gleason

Trevis L. Gleason is a food journalist and published author, an award-winning chef and culinary instructor who has taught at institutions such as Cornell University, New England Culinary Institute and...read more